The use of AI in drug discovery and development has been recognised, explored, and implemented throughout the last decade, with a notable acceleration in recent years. AI technology has provided a multitude of enhancements, including the identification of lead compounds, the optimisation of clinical trials, and assistance with drug repurposing. As a result, lucrative deals have been struck between big pharma companies and specialist AI companies. These include the $2.76bn deal between Novo Nordisk and Valo Health, the $1.75bn agreement between Eli Lilly and Isomorphic Labs, and the $1.5bn partnership between Bayer and Recursion Pharmaceuticals.
Recursion Pharmaceuticals
Recursion is a strong player in AI, utilising machine learning and its large language model, LOWE. However, what makes its technology distinctive is its use of high-throughput automation and proprietary data sets. Automation allows it to test up to 2.2 million samples per week in its wet labs. Additionally, in May 2024, Recursion announced it had made the largest supercomputer in the pharmaceutical industry, BioHive-2, in collaboration with NVIDIA, improving its BioHive-1 system. Recursion OS is Recursion’s AI-driven drug discovery platform. This platform leverages its automated experiments with multi-omic and chemical data to discover novel drug targets and potential mechanisms of action. Unlike traditional drug discovery, which follows a narrow, stepwise approach, Recursion OS maps biological relationships at a large scale using machine learning to analyse the data sets. This integrated platform allows for data-driven discovery, uncovering unexpected drug targets and compounds rather than screening compounds against a predefined target.
Recursion OS has allowed it to identify RBM39, a novel drug target, and produce a candidate drug, REC-1245, a small molecule therapy targeting biomarker-enriched solid tumours and lymphoma. According to Recursion, these technologies have allowed it to go from target identification to Investigational New Drug-enabling studies (those required before human testing) in less than 18 months, compared to the industry standard of 42 months.
Another key candidate in Recursion’s pipeline is a cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) inhibitor, REC-617, being developed for multiple advanced solid tumours and currently recruiting for Phase I/II trials. There are currently no approved checkpoint inhibitors targeting CDK7, which has a crucial role in regulating cell cycle progression and enabling cancers’ prosurvival and proliferative signalling. Its elevated levels have been associated with clinical outcomes, suggesting it may directly affect progression in a range of cancers. Recursion has stated REC-617 has an advantage over other candidates due to its “high selectivity and optimised half-life”.
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Recursion’s partnerships
Recursion’s $565m merger with Exscientia, announced in August 2024, combines two key leading AI pharmaceutical companies. Exscientia will bring expertise, precision design capabilities, and its automated small molecule synthesis platform to Recursion. Exscientia also has full rights over a compound in the pipeline targeting CDK7, GTAEXS617, in solid tumours. This compound has shown a reduced interaction with a drug efflux transporter, a competitive advantage over other compounds.
Recursion has had several notable partnerships with key pharmaceutical players such as Roche, Sanofi, and, as previously mentioned, Bayer. Recent US Security and Exchange Commission filings by NVIDIA also maintained its $7.7m stake in Recursion, despite reducing investment in other AI ventures, indicating a vote of confidence in the company. However, biotech is a competitive landscape with many drugs failing before seeing a return on investment. Currently, Recursion does not have any drugs on the market, with candidates still in trials, potentially years away from approval. Competitors such as Owkin, BenevolentAI, Insilico Medicine, and Valo Health will also compete for big pharma contracts.
Despite this, Recursion’s unique technological capabilities and candidates in the pipeline, as well as its merger and deals within the pharmaceutical industry, position it well to tap into the pharma AI gold rush.
